


Maxneil oneshots!!

by teastari



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Aged Up, Alcohol Mentions, Angst, Everyone's sad, Fluff, M/M, Sad Max, Sad Neil, also everyone's going batshit insane, cigarette mentions, death mentions, mostly angst because I suck, weed mentions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:16:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24354154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teastari/pseuds/teastari
Summary: I might convert a oneshot or two included in this into an actual fanfiction, but I don't know yet. Fluff and a lot of angst will be included, I need somewhere to spill my angst ideas.
Relationships: Max & Science Camp Neil (Camp Camp)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	Maxneil oneshots!!

**Author's Note:**

> tw; death
> 
> Neil doesn't know how to cope with the loss of his husband. Luckily, max is there to comfort him, while Nikki is there to bring him back to reality.

Neil was never good at handling his own emotions. He'd spiral out of control mentally, and jam every problem he had into an airtight bottle, screw it with a cork and fling it into the dark recesses of his mind to be swept away. He was good at it, too, as long as he wasn't confronted. Neil's forehead would be coated in a thick layer of perspiration and his words would have stammers rippling through and tearing his broken sentences to shreds if he ever got caught in a lie, especially regarding how he was feeling. 

But, that wasn't how he felt now. That was all in the past. After thousands of pitiful questions about his mental state, all the clammy hands caringly clasping his shoulder and pulling him into an awkward hug to match their sad tones, Neil got used to the confrontation of his emotions. That didn't mean he came to terms with how he was feeling, because what he was going through had no magical antidote. He couldn't just wake up one day, feel the beady sun's ray's seeping through the wire mesh and tan, tattered curtains in his bed, and sit upright, next to his ensemble of prescription pill bottles lining the edge of his mahogany nightstand, waiting to be washed down with the lukewarm water beside them.

Especially because, on the nights he did fall asleep, he always had the same reoccurring dream. Every night he relived the last memory he shared with his late husband, sleeping away in the sleek black casket with his hands tucked neatly by his sides. His long, butterfly lashes gently grazing over his under eyes, eyelids hiding the beautiful swirl of vibrance in his iris'. Neil remembered how he reached his pale hand to hold his husband's one last time, and how he cringed at the feeling. The shiver that rolled down his spine when their fingers limply threaded together, his lovers hand blotchy and calloused, but worst of all, cold. He really was gone.  
A few months ago, the grief had inevitably consumed Neil. It felt like his veins were being strangled, and someone had poked holes in his lungs with a needle, letting them deflate like party balloons. After feeling like his organs were thing together and his tear ducts would implode from overstimulation, the feeling of numbness swarmed him, and he sat for hours in an unresponsive state.

That was around the time max found him. Curled up in a ball, hands wrapped so tightly around his knees, eyes glued to the carpet his socked toes curled into. The subtle sway of his raspy voice, masked in concern, the way max crouched next to him and let his thumb swipe away the tears.. it helped Neil evoke back into reality. But that didn't stray away from the fact that this kind of grief was abnormal, and Nikki made that immensely clear to him as soon as she was informed. She wanted to drag him to a doctor, which honestly offended him.

So what, he had a small episode? That didn't mean he had lost his mind. This was just his way of grieving. Max didn't agree with her idea either, loathed it, even. He seemed to despise it almost as much as Neil himself did. 

"I know what pills do to a person." A huff passed through Neil's lips, bleached to the color of a soft pink coral. His arms were folded, tucked close to his dress shirt, while he ranted to max about the audacity Nikki had. He wasn't a child requiring guidance from someone, he was a twenty-three-year-old man with a fully-matured mind. It wasn't like he was stupid, either. It wasn't a surprise to anyone that his dorky, stereotypical wardrobe matched up with his nerdy personality. Nikki had been pestering him for weeks to seek a doctor, and finally took it upon herself to get him an appointment. If going to see a stupid physiologist meant that Nikki would not only quit nagging, but Neil could prove her wrong, Neil would call this a win. "Not only are they addicting, but they alter brain activity. Even if I was out of my mind like Nikki stupidly claims, I wouldn't go on that shit. God, even insomnia pills are a nuisance."

"Don't you take melatonin, though?" Max spoke up, throwing a leg over the couches headrest while he laid in a lazy position over the neat couch cushions. He evidently wasn't on board with this idea either, but he couldn't do much about it. Neil asked him to, and he /had/ tried, but Nikki always ignored the Indian when he tried to interject. It was as if she couldn't acknowledge anything the boy had to say, and would just proceed to argue with Neil. This honestly offended max, since if she had a say in this, he should too.

"Melatonin's different. It isn't synthetic and it's over the counter. Nikki wants to drag me away to get me on chlorpromazine and attend useless therapy sessions - this isn't even any of her business in the first place! I'd know if I was losing my marbles, I don't need cognitive psychoeducation or any of the stuff she spews about." Neil could feel the blood boiling underneath his skin while he combed the fringe of his curls back, checking the time on his wristwatch simultaneously. His teal-haired friend would be here in about ten minutes to drag him into her car and drive off to see if he should be put on millions of prescriptions. He couldn't wait to see the look on her stubborn face when the doctor told her exactly what he already knew; nothing was wrong. He was just grieving for a prolonged period of time. 

"Man, she's just worried about you. And to be fucking honest, I kinda am too. I don't agree with all these theories about your mental health either, but if you go to this, maybe she'll chill out." Max leaned so he could connect eye contact with Neil, watching as the nerd's face went from angrily contorted to somewhat sympathetic. In a sense, he was right. Neil had told her about how he had been unresponsive for hours until max came to his rescue. It was like the numbness hardwiring his bones had just… vanished at that moment. Neil's teeth bit nervously on his bottom lip, a reluctant sigh escaping him. He hated to admit it, buy max was right.  
Nikki had been terrified when Neil explained to her the episode he experienced. Especially since Max was mentioned, which sent Nikki into a long interlude of silence during their phone call.  
The pessimist wasn't really good at comforting people. Especially Neil - who was suffering through such heartache. His fucking husband died. Neil assumed she had just been shocked by Max's sudden change in character.

"I… suppose you're right. It's not like going to this dumb thing would hurt. Even if I'd prefer to go by myself - but she doesn't trust I'll go if she isn't there." Nikki had been so desperate to get him under a physiologist examination, that the girl who was drowning in student loans while working in a minimum wage coffee joint to pay off her apartment bills, had put forth the money to book him an appointment. It'd be a dick move to not answer the door or deny her, or honestly, even be infuriated in the first place. She was just worried. Nikki had lost a close friend of hers around the same time Neil himself had lost his partner, which probably gave her a false sense of how grief should unravel. They were grieving their losses very differently, Nikki even seemed to be recovering lately, but Neil was stuck in this crushing rut he just couldn't climb out of. "What're you gonna do while I'm gone?"

"Dunno. Send me a text if it turns out that you're batshit crazy, you'd be like a real-life mad-scientist! Y'know - like the guy who made Frankenstein." Max responded with sarcasm threaded neatly through his tone, a sly grin pulling at the curves and crevices of Max's lips to reveal his signature smirk. Neil rolled his supple eyes, dropping the comb on the bathroom counter, flicking off the light switch so he could amble over to the couch, facing max.

"Frankenstein's the scientist. So, actually, I'd be like the real-life Frankenstein." Neil jestingly corrected, causing max to scoff and shuffle to sit upright. 

"Oh, excuse me for not knowing my Frankenstein lore." Max pursed his lips as he retorted with this witty remark, about to force another comeback when the violent knocking to Neil's apartment door rudely cut him off. Both heads turned to face the door, but Neil was the only one to get up, repressing an annoyed groan from collapsing from the back of his throat while he approached the door. One hand clasped the silver handle while he peaked out the eyehole, viewing an inpatient girl with teal pigtails encased in red ribbons staring back at him. One foot tapped the hardwood under her, bright pink eyes fixated on the door, hoping Neil hadn't bailed last minute. Hesitantly, Neil shifted the lock and pulled open the door with a vehement tug, causing Nikki to release the breath she had been holding, deflating and bestowing a gentle smile.

"Hey!! So you decided not to bail, huh?" She gave him a toothy grin, waiting for him to open the door farther to permit her entrance. Instead, he stood still, averting eye contact.

"No. But that doesn't mean I'm doing this willingly, I'd just feel like a dick if you paid for an appointment and I didn't follow through." Neil promptly answered, a hand reaching to scratch the nape of his neck. He wasn't looking forward to a psychiatric evaluation. Sure, he was experiencing a few symptoms that lined up with psychosis, but that didn't mean he necessarily had it. He was completely mentally there, her overreacting wasn't necessary. Nikki's face looked like it was about to fall, but she trudged through it, struggling to maintain a happy grin as if she didn't, Neil would break.  
That's how everyone had been treating him lately, more than ever.  
Like he was a fragile vase.

"I know you aren't excited about this, but I'm worried about ya, dude. You've been scaring me."

Neil cocked an eyebrow, parting his lips to speak, but not a sound came out.  
Scaring her? The hell does that mean? He wanted to confront her further on the subject, but his voice was caught on a hook. Luckily for him, max filled in the gap of silence with a yell from the couch he was probably too lazy to get up from.

"Oh no, he's definitely ecstatic about going to this! He's been talking about it all day!" The sarcasm max had never failed to cease, or not spark a giggle between Neil. Even in the toughest time of Neil's lifetime, max knew how to make the nerd crack a grin. Even if it was only for a moment. Nikki, on the other hand, was silent. She didn't even utter one of the many witty responses she had stored in the back of her mind, probably all of them were influenced by max. But… she didn't. She just kept staring at Neil as if she was awaiting a response from him. Did she really think he was excited about this? She couldn't be that blind to Max's sarcasm.

"Ignore him. He's just trying to piss me off." Neil shook his head, looking over his shoulder momentarily to shoot max a glare. It probably would've been more effective if he wasn't holding a goofy smile, and if Max's own mischievous behavior wasn't so contagious. When his eyes shifted back to Nikki, she was looking at him as if he was speaking a foreign language. Her mouth buckled, waiting for Neil to deliver her context that Nikki hadn't gotten.

"Huh?" She finally peeped, trying to look past Neil's tall stature to view if someone else was residing in the apartment. Neil didn't pick up on the memo and stayed put, looking down at her as the awkward tension between them increased.

"Didn't you hear max?"

Nikki froze up like a stiff board, realization hitting her, so hard that she probably would've been knocked out if it wasn't metaphorical. She finally surrendered, letting her face fall while her cheery grin faltered into a straight, grim line. Her bottom lip quivered as if she wanted to say something, but physically couldn't. Her eyes wandered around the hall, feet tipping her back and forth. Neil noticed her strange behavior, reaching out to gently lay a slender hand on her shoulder. She flinched at the feeling but didn't pull away.  
But she couldn't bring herself to look at him.

"Woah, you just kinda… shut down. Are you okay?" Neil asked, genuine concern lathering his sentence. Nikki responded with a silent and enthusiastic nod, which was obviously fake. Neil's eyebrows knitted, wondering how she thought he was so ignorant. Did she think he hadn't noticed her abnormal actions? He wasn't stupid. 

"Y-yeah. Let's just… please let's just get going." Nikki forcefully grabbed Neil's arm, looking up at him with a gaze so sharp that it could cut metal in a quick slice. She was determined to get him to this appointment, even more than she was just a few seconds ago. Neil turned to wave to Max, who was hardly paying attention to the conversation between the two of them. Or at least, looked like he hadn't been. Max was about as easy to read as a statue. 

Nikki's car reeked of weed. This was just another factor adding onto why Neil wished he could just go by himself, he couldn't stand the scent. He had complained about it before, and they'd playfully argue over it for hours. But that was in the past. This car ride was silent, other than the sound of wind pressing past the slight crack in Nikki's car window while they drove, and the repetitive pop song that her radio emitted on some random channel.  
Being in her car was better than the hell he was about to endure, though. He didn't have to go into how desperate he was to not attend a psychiatric evaluation again, he'd made his opinion pretty clear for the both of them. 

That's where his memory ended. Of course there was more, but what more of a story was there to tell? He'd reminisce in this memory every morning he woke up. He'd feel the beady sun's rays seeping through the wire mesh and tan, tattered curtains. He'd stare up at the ceilings chipped paint, running this through his head like a broken record. Next to his ensemble of prescription pill bottles lining the edge of his mahogany nightstand, waiting to be washed down with the lukewarm water beside them.

But, why?  
Why did he take the time out of his day to stare in deep thought, a blank countenance on his face while he laid alone in his bed, tangled in the white sheets?

It was because he missed him.  
That was the last day he ever 'saw' max.  
And the same day he was assigned a prescription for chlorpromazine, a medication taken by those suffering from psychosis disorder.  
His husband, Maxwell Greenwood, died on January 20, 2020, at age 23 due to lung cancer.


End file.
